Muslim child loses eye after police beating in India

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A 13-year-old Muslim boy from northern India has allegedly lost vision in one eye after being beaten in police custody, in a case that has drawn national attention to rising instances of custodial violence against minorities.

According to The Observer Post, the boy had gone to a local mosque in the city of Muzaffarnagar to announce that his family’s chicken shop had reopened after ten days of closure. He reportedly said that chicken would be sold at a reduced price due to low demand during the Hindu fasting period of Navratri. 

Soon after, a complaint was lodged against him, and police arrived to detain the boy.

CCTV footage from the area reportedly shows police officers taking the boy away. His father, who runs the small poultry business, said he found his son inside a local police outpost with his feet tied and multiple bruises.

 “When we returned later that day, they said I had been fined under Section 173 of the new Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,” he told reporters, referring to India’s newly introduced penal code. “My son said he could no longer see properly.”

The father alleged that officers forced the boy to confess to possessing a pistol after discovering a photo of one on his phone — a picture he insists was downloaded from the internet. Medical records from a local clinic confirmed that the child had suffered severe trauma to his left eye “caused about an hour earlier.” He has since been transferred to a hospital in Meerut for further treatment.

The family has filed formal complaints with the National Human Rights Commission, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, and local authorities, accusing police of torture and intimidation.

In response, Muzaffarnagar Superintendent of Police Sanjai Kumar said the matter was under investigation, claiming preliminary findings suggested the boy “had a pre-existing eye condition.” Local police officials defended their actions, saying the fine imposed on the family was “to maintain peace in the area.”

Rights advocates say the case highlights the growing vulnerability of Muslims under India’s new policing laws, where arbitrary detention and violence often go unpunished despite constitutional safeguards.